Tape or ribbon holder.



H. W. FLATOW & F. UCKERT.

TAPE OR RIBBON HOLDER.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

wumtom ,WFCaZO W ifjl c le r15 HENRY W. FLATOW AND FRED LICKERT, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

TAPE 0R RIBBON HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

' Application filed May 11,1915. Serial No. 27,434.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY W. FLATOW and FRED LICKER'I, citizens of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tape or Ribbon Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention contemplates an improved tape or ribbon holder and has as its primary object to provide a device of this character which may be readily applied to a roll of tape or the like for holding the free end of the tape and consequently prevent the tape from becoming unwound from the roll.

The invention has as a further object to provide a device of this character adapted to permit the tape to be readily unwound from the roll by manually pulling upon the free end of the tape and wherein the said device'will provide guides for the free end of the tape tending to prevent it .from becoming tangled and adapted to facilitate the unwinding operation of the tape. And the invention has as a still further object to provide a device of this character wherein the tape holding element will be yieldably urged radially of the roll of tape to thus compensate for the decreasing diameter of the tape roll as the tape is unwound therefrom.

Other and incidental objects will appear as the description proceeds and in the drawings wherein we have illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several "iews, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing our improved device applied to a conventional type of tape roll, Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the manner in which the tape may be unwound from the roll, Fig. 3 is an elevation more particularly showing the mounting of the device upon a tape roller, Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view showing the device detached, Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a slight modification of the invention.

In carrying out our invention, we employ a preferably cylindrical hub 10 which may be formed of any suitable material and which may, of course, be constructed any desired length as exigency may demand. The hub 10, intermediate its ends, is provided with spaced diametric openings 11, and adjacent the extremities thereof, is

formed with annular grooves 12 defining terminal heads 13.

Arranged to cooperate with the hub 10 is a substantially U-shaped holding element 14 which is preferably formed from a single length of suitable resilient wire. This length of wire is bent intermediate its ends to define spaced parallel arms 15 which are joined by a preferably straight connecting portion 16, extending transversely between the arms. I v

At the juncture of the connecting portion 16 with the arms 15, the length of wire is bent to define laterally projecting loops or ears 17, projecting in opposite directions beyond the lines of the arms 15 as more particularly shown inFig. 3 of the drawings. It will be observed that the connecting portion 16 is disposed in spaced relation to the adjacent outer ends of the arms 15, or in other words, the ends thereof opposite theirfree ends, and is arranged to seat against the said arms;

In the drawings, we have shown our improved device applied to a conventional type of tape roll 18. The hub 10 is passed freely through the central opening formed in the said roll with the heads 13 projecting upon the opposite sides thereof. The holding member 14 isthen arranged to embrace the roll with the arms 15 extending radially of the roll and engaging freelywithin the openings 11 of the hub to slide longitudinally therein.

It will thusbe observed that the connecting portion 16 will seat against the periphery of the roll in the manner best shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and will provide a bearing member adapted to engage the free end of the tape. For urging the holding member radially of the tape roll, we preferably employ elastic bands 19 which are passed through the eyes 17 of the holding member in the manner more particularly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings and are freely engaged in the annular grooves 12 formed in the hub 10 to be retained in position therein, by the heads 13 of the hub.

It will now be observed that the elastic bands 19 will normally urge the holding member 14 radially of the hub 10 or, in other words, radially of the tape roll 18 to yieldably hold the connecting portion 16 or the bearing element of the holding member in engagement with the periphery of the tape roll to thus prevent the accidental displacement or unwinding of the free end of the tape. While we have indicated that elastic bands 19 are preferably employed, still, it will be seen that any other suitable flexible means may be substituted therefor and we do not, therefore, wish to be limited in this regard. However, in this connection, it may be stated that where rubber bands are used,- the said bands are threaded over the arms 15 and are moved longitudinally thereon until the bands are brought into contact with the bearing portion 16. The bearing portion .16 is then flexed away from the adjacent terminals of the arms to permit the bands to enter the eyes 17. When the hearing portion is then subsequently released, the said portion will then yieldably engage the arms for maintaining the bands in engagement within the eyes. Thus, the hearing portion 16 will perform a dual function in that it will not only provide a bearing member adapted to engage the periphery of the tape roll, but will provide means for retaining the bands 19 in engagement within the eyes 17.

From the preceding description, it will be readily seen that in practical use, the tape may be readily unwound from the tape roll by pulling upon the free end thereof in the manner shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, when the free end of the tape will be caused to engage the bearing portion 16 of the mem ber 1-1 and consequently cause the member to rotate about the tape roll upon the hub 10. Thus, the tape may be readily unwound from the roll and it will be noted that when the free end of the tape is brought into engagement with the bearing member 16 of the element 14 as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the loops 18 will provide guides for the free end of the tape tending to prevent it frcm becoming tangled or wedged between the arms 15 of the element 1% and the tape roll.

If, in practical use, a portion of the free end of the tape should remain unused, such for instance as illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings. it will be readily seen that the ears or loops 1? may be grasped with the fingers and used as handles to rotate the element 1% upon the hub 10 and consequently move the said element around the tape roll closed a slight modification of the invention wherein the length of wire forming the holding member 14 is, at the juncture of the connecting portion 16 of the said member with the arms 15 thereof, formed to provide laterally projecting hooks 20 which are preferably longitudinally curved and are adapted for engagement by the bands 19, these hooks providing handles and taking the place of the eyes 17 of the preferred form of the invention. Otherwise, the construction of this modification is identical with that of the preferred form of the invention and a further description thereof will not, there fore, be given.

Having thus described our invention, What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is A device of the character described including a hub, a holding element formed from a single length of materialbent intermediate its ends to provide spaced arms joined by a connecting portion, the length of material being bentto'define loops at the juncture of said connecting portion with the arms with the connecting portion normally seating against the said arms to close the loops, the arms being freely connected to the hub, and yieldable means extending through said loops to be maintained in positicn therein by said connecting portion and enga ing the hubfor urging the connecting portion toward the hub] i In testimony whereof we affix our tures in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY l/V. FLATOXV. [1,. s.] FRED LICKERT. [L.s.]

Witnesses THEO. OTJEN, FANNY H. 01mm.

signa- Copies of this .patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. 7

Washington, D. Q. 

